Review: Conrad Bora Bora French Polynesia
Intro
Following terrific views on a flight on Air Tahiti, it was time to head to the Conrad in Bora Bora (funny right because my name is Konrad as well). We chose to book the Conrad for a couple of different reasons. The first reason was due to the price point compared to the other properties around. The Four Seasons for our dates was upwards of 3000$ dollars per night! The second reason was due to how the property looked, on paper it was gorgeous!
The Conrad in Bora Bora is sublime, with pristine beaches, spacious villas, and incredible food. This property is up there with some of the best hotels in the world and is worth staying at if you are in Bora Bora.
How We Booked
We had 4 nights at the Conrad in Bora Bora before returning to Papeete. We booked this 4-night stay for 1100$ per night after tax for a basic hill villa. However, for the last 2 nights, we upgraded to an overwater deluxe villa (the one below presidential) for 900$ extra per night.
This stay was booked through the Amex Travel Portal because free upgrades are offered if available. Sadly, there were none available when we were there.
Transfer From The Airport
The situation when you land is a little different from traditional airports. In Bora Bora, each hotel is located (mostly) on its own island, and the airport is also on its own island. Once we arrived, there was a stand for each hotel. We made our way over to the Conrad stand and were taken to a boat!
We had to wait for a few other passengers before we embarked (10 minutes tops), and soon enough we were leaving the terminal. This transport puts Uber Black to shame😉.
It was a roughly 20-minute ride over to the hotel. We were given welcome drinks and a flower necklace indicating we were truly in paradise!
Soon enough, the Conrad came into sight. Excited is an understatement for how I felt.
We had to head the presidential villas around before turning into the lobby area.
Once we arrived at the docks, a live band played music. What a nice way to be welcomed to the Conrad!
Check-in was done right by the docks, and we made our way to our King Bed Villa With A Tropical Beach View.
The King Bed Villa With A Tropical Beach View
There are many different options for choosing a room at the Conrad, but even this room, which is the lowest category, is fantastic. When we entered the room, there was a sofa bed made up for me since the rooms only feature one king bed (there is no option for two beds). There was a welcome box of chocolates as well as some bottles of water.
Opposite the sofa bed was a TV. I love this design as there is a TV in the bedroom and the living room not just one.
Once through the doorway lay a beautifully King Sized 4 posted bed. Flowers were on the bed which was a thoughtful touch. Since I was sleeping on the sofa bed, I didn't get to test out the king-sized bed. However, my mum said she had some of the best nights of sleep in these beds! That must mean something😆.
To the right of the bed lay a desk as well as a closet. The desk was perfectly adequate while the closet had more than enough space for all of our luggage.
There was a door from the living room and a door from the bedroom that led to an outdoor patio space. Even if we weren't over the water for the first 2 nights, we still had views of the beautiful ocean.
The views were sublime!
Similarly to the patio, there were 2 doors that connected both the living room and bedroom to the bathroom. Upon entering lay the staple piece of the bathroom, the bathtub. I took more than 1😉 and it was a fabulous deep soaking tub!
To the right of the bath lay the toilet. A pretty standard toilet but worked well nonetheless.
Opposite the bathroom lay the shower. It was everything you would expect from a 5-star resort. Fantastic water pressure and it is very refreshing.
Lastly, there was an outdoor shower that was a perfect way to feel like you are in Bora Bora.
Royal Overwater Villa With The Pool
As I mentioned previously, we moved to the Royal Overwater villa for the last 2 nights of our stay. The villa wasn't too different minus a few aspects. The first big change was an overwater hammock to gaze at the serene views of Bora Bora!
Secondly, there was a decent sized plunge pool to cool down after soaking in the hot Bora Bora sun (it's extremely hot here).
We had a sunset-facing villa, which meant we were very close to the lobby as pictured.
Two lounge chairs came with the villa and staff would refresh the towels daily.
The second biggest difference was the view from the bedroom. Waking up to this view is a one-of-a-kind experience. We ordered room service for lunch which was placed on our beds.
Thirdly, we had lunch in the pool one day. Don't get me wrong food is ridiculously expensive here but when you are eating a delicious burger overlooking the ocean from a pool, price is not what comes to mind. There is no extra charge for this service.
Some of the best sunsets are in Africa, right? So I thought before seeing this one from the Overwater Villa. This was the most picturesque sunset I have ever experienced in my life and it happened two days in a row!
Around The Hotel
Throughout the hotel, there is a walkway that is connected from one end of the island to the other. Bikes are also available on a first-come-first-serve basis. To start, by the presidential villas lies a viewpoint for the sunset if your villa doesn't have one. Many people tend to come here during sunset hours so don't worry, you won't be alone.
Sun rises in the East and sets in the West, or so the saying goes. On the complete opposite end of the resort is a viewpoint for the sunrise. It's about a 10-minute walk up some hills from the main area, but it's well worth it. The spa is also located near the viewpoint.
Albeit this is a blurry picture, but these are the walkways that connect the overwater villas to the main island. There are railings just in case you get a little bit too drunk to walk straight🥴.
A Lord Of The Rings-looking structure was nearby to the main restaurant. It's so beautiful when it's lit up at night!
The Beach
There are two different beaches at the Hilton, one for Hilton gold members and the other for non-Hilton gold members. Pictured below is the beach for non-Hilton gold members. At the end of the beach, you can rent equipment (free of charge), such as paddleboard and snorkeling gear.
Since my mum is a Hilton gold we had access to that side. There is nothing different minus being more intimate and less busy. Something to be aware of if you are going to go swimming in the waters is there are baby blacktip sharks, stingrays and eagle rays that patrol the area (although they are harmless, more on that in a future post).
There are beanbags along the beach as well as lounge chairs. Whatever you desire, they pretty much have it.
Lastly, there is an infinity pool right on the beach. Surprisingly, there were never more than 5-10 people at the pool. This was most likely due to most villas having a private pool.
Transport To The Main Island
In Bora Bora, there is a main island that has many of the shops you would expect to find in civilization. Since my data wasn't working on my phone, I went to buy a local personal hotspot at the Vodafone on the island. There are departures every 1-2 hours from the Conrad on this gorgeous boat.
Once you arrive, you can spend as long as you want on the island up until 6 pm. If you miss the last boat back to the resort you will have to pay for private transport (100$+) instead of this complimentary shuttle. Everything is within walking distance from the dock where the pickup and dropoff are.
Dining
There are a couple of different restaurants at the Conrad. There is the main restaurant which serves breakfast but later turns into a fine dining French Restaurant. Breakfast was included in our rate and was superb. At the end of the day, Bora Bora is a French colony, so the croissants were superb, almost comparable to the mainland.
Dining is also available on the beach and I enjoyed a sundae 😲.
We checked out the French Restaurant and the French Polynesian restaurant during our stay.
The French Restaurant was fantastic with a great pesto pasta and steak. It was expensive though, just like everything else.
The French Polynesian restaurant is more lowkey but still beautiful with live music. The food was also good there.
Lastly, there is a Japanese restaurant but it was booked during our stay, so make sure to make reservations ahead of time!
Departure
After four amazing days, the time had come for the worst part of every vacation, settling the bill. We won't speak about that on here😰.
Following settling the bill, a private boat was waiting to take us on the 20-minute drive back to the airport to head to Papeete for the next adventure.
Service here was stellar as one would expect from a resort of this caliber. Usually, I do a whole extract on service but this one moment summarized the service.
My hat flew off into the water because I was being a melon and not thinking. The captain swang the boat around and using a gaff fished it out of the water, gave it a rinse, shook it off, and returned it to me. Above and beyond is an understatement.
Final Thoughts
Staying at the Conrad Bora Bora was an absolute treat. For the price point, I thought it was an absolute bargain as there are worse hotels in the Caribbean that charge 2x the price. The rooms were spacious and beautiful, the service was detailed oriented and friendly, the food was incredible (albeit expensive), and the water was some of the most beautiful I have experienced in the world, just shy of Palawan.
Overall, this hotel is extremely close to perfection and I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again!
